Corset Record

Corsets have been worn by both women and men for a long time - 100's of years. The types of shapes and construction techniques have changed over time. and so have the materials used. In order to reproduce the correct shapes, you should have an understanding of the items and materials you can select from.

Using Corsets to Shape the Body

The oldest corsets are typically those with moderate amounts of reshaping. The breast flesh looks to be extremely compressed and their appearance reshaped. To develop this silhouette you must work against the curves and shape of of a woman's body.

Busks, Boning and Corset Construction

A corset of high quality depends on two main factors: a) the type of material used in the boning, and b) the amount of tightening allowed by the lacing design. If you want to feel comfortable while in your corset you are able to lace and tighten up to a point, it is therefore more practical to use the proper quality of "bone".

A fine choice in boning is the use of spring steel cased in nylon that is usually light in color and is delivered in a variety of thicknesses, widths and lengths. When looking for a particular type of spring steel for your choice in corsets the width gives way to the thickness in what is most important. You are able to judge when the correct spring steel boning is selected because it is very pliable but it is difficult to bend.

Busk fasteners are also used, they open and are located on the front of corsets to allow you the freedom to get into your corset without requesting help from anyone. The busks made their debut around 1860 and initiated with a very simple busk, the more complicated spoon busk was developed in the 1870's. Any of these corsets can be found in our corset superstore.